Echoes of the Past
by Spacefille
Summary: "Roadrunner Issues" doesn't even begin to describe it. He definitely should not be dating someone who should be his dinner, not his lover. Luckily for Rev, Tech is determined to face his issues and make the relationship work. Unfortunately someone from Tech's past has other plans… Warnings for violence, non-con. Tech/Rev
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: I wrote this with Damgel in 2009 but never posted it online because it was unfinished. I started working on it again, so I've decided to start posting it.

Dedicated to Robina for getting me into Loonatics Unleashed, and Damgel for helping me with this fic.

**Pairings**: Tech/Rev (past Tech/other)

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Part 1

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He liked it here. Yeah, okay, he took a couple of falls during battle, got beat up a bit. But these people, they didn't judge him. They didn't yell at him if he didn't clean his room completely, and he was allowed to do as he pleased. No one expected him to be super smart... in fact, he got the general impression they weren't too impressed with brains. Tech was the super smart one, and though he had a super inflated ego to go with it, he did deserve the credit for being the resident genius. He did stuff that Rev hadn't ever even considered! Yeah, so he had a photographic memory and got the best grades in Runner High, but when it came to thinking outside of the box... he failed. Miserably.

That was partly why he liked spending so much time in Tech's lab. Just to see him sit there with a couple pieces of unrelated metal and a couple CPUs and a half hour later have a working model of the entire planet... it was thrilling!

... He was thrilling. Annoying ego aside Rev found himself staring at the coyote more and more often, stupid silly grin on his beak as he inspected him. He loved the way Tech's brow knit when he was working on something delicate, and even the flash of annoyance in his eyes when Rev asked him a series of questions really, really fast.

He couldn't tell him though. All he could do was hide his feelings down as far as they would go and hope they'd go away over time. Which they did, sort of. For a while Tech drove him up the wall, his arrogance a little too much to handle, and that was saying a lot coming from him.

But then, Tech would do something incredibly CUTE, like stutter when Zadavia said she was going to a concert with him. Or look fearful when Zadavia said her brother's name. He couldn't help but like him then... and his stomach would flip flop and no amount of running would make it calm down.

He gave up sometime after that. He remembered the incident clear as day, a few weeks after Tech helped him make the Amigo and proved yet again he was right out of his league. He was excited about the new molecular reconstructor Tech had made, which could turn anything into anything else and proceeded to turn the air into a plate of steaming seed buns. The coyote was single-handedly the most amazing creature on the face of the planet.

"You're-so-amazing-that-this-time-i-don't-care-if-you're-a-coyote-or-a-guy-I'm-going-to-kiss-you!" And he did, pressing his beak to the coyote's snout.

Horror flashed across his face a second later. Tech just looked confused as he pulled away and Rev ran away. He didn't want to see the look on Tech's face to turn into disgust.

"Rev, wait..!" Was the last thing Rev heard before he was out of hearing range.

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He had to go back. He stood at a cliff at the edge of the city, approximately half way between the city and his family's home. He talked himself through everything, how he was going to have to quit the team, how he wasn't going to quit the team because the team needed him, how he was going to die of embarrassment if he ever saw Tech again, that Tech was going to tear his throat out, or banish him from helping him with his experiments for ever and ever and…

And then the coyote flew past him, stopped and looped back towards him. Rev forced himself to not move. He wasn't a coward. He'd face whatever... anger, punishment or whatever that Tech was going to give him.

Tech did look appropriately irritated as he cut power to his jetpack and stomped over to him.

"Now," he said with that same arrogant voice that gave him chills. "Tell me why I had to come out here to talk instead of my lab," he made an adorable face. "There's nothing wrong with my lab, is there?"

Rev actually let his mouth fall open and shut several times. "You're not mad?" he blurted. He shook his head quickly, "I-mean-I'm-a-a-roadrunner! You-know-those-coyote-issues?"

Tech's brow furrowed. "So?" he frowned. "You're not your parents are you?" He made another less cute face at that.

Rev shook his head so fast he was sure it blurred. "No!" He replied. "I-mean-I-hope-not-why-would-I-want-to-be-them?I-mean-don't-get-me-wrong-I-love-them-incredibly-and-they-raised-me-and-I'm-grateful-and-all-but-I-could-never-ever-live-like-that-how-else-would-we-even-work-to-"

Tech frowned deeper and took a decisive step forwards. "Rev," he interrupted.

Rev meeped twice and gave him a wide-eyed look.

"Shut up," Tech commanded. And returned Rev's kiss.

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Tech kissed him until he actually began to relax, ruffled feathers smoothing and eyes glazing slightly. When Tech finally pulled away Rev darted his tongue out to taste his beak, savoring the flavor of it.

"I thought you'd be upset," he said finally, straining to go slowly as to not upset Tech. "I mean, I'm not even the same species..."

Tech looked a bit embarrassed at that and scuffed the ground with his boot. "Yeah well..." he tossed a look up at the moon, the scant light making his features seem sharper and even more exotic. "I don't exactly have a good track record of dating my own kind."

Rev shifted nervously. He didn't want to ask but he was fairly sure he knew who Tech was talking about. Tech merely confirmed it by giving him another look, this one sad and a bit weary. "Hey, at least I don't have to worry about you trying to take over the planet or anything like that."

Rev blinked. "Well-you-never-know-maybe-it-will-happen,-it's-possible-right-I-could-be-posessed-or-hit-my-head-really-hard-and-forget-things-and..."

Tech reached out and grabbed his neck and pressed his snout to Rev's beak again.

Rev blinked when he pulled away this time and grinned. "Finally found a way to get to you quit talking," Tech boasted.

Rev couldn't say he disagreed with this method as he made a contented sound and leaned in closer for a third kiss.

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And that's how that happened. They didn't even do anything beyond tentatively kiss that night, and agree to try something out.

It was like walking on eggshells at first, because sex wasn't exactly something he talked about with Tech, or really any of the team ever. So he flushed and got flustered when Tech just touched his arm to ask him to hand him something and kept his hand there a little longer than necessary.

The fact of the matter was, it was a little bit impossible to date, really. Tech was always in his lab. Dating consisted of him bringing Tech take out food and getting praise. And when he did finally convince Tech to come picnic somewhere outside the headquarters, alone, he was so flustered he couldn't sit still for more than three seconds. To make matters worse Tech finally ended up pulling out a microcomputer and writing up plans for a new spaceship while talking to him at the same time.

He had to live for the occasional kiss good night or nibble at his neck that made Rev fluff with happiness. And he had to slow down for that to happen and stand around Tech long enough for the coyote to notice him.

He felt he was going to go insane with impatience. He never ever considered that Tech was deliberately restraining himself from getting to close before he was ready. How was he to know how the coyote felt? He wasn't a predator... the thought of fighting urges much darker than sex never occurred to him.

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One night, soon after that, he found Tech out on the top of their base. The coyote was looking out over the stars and muttering to himself while jotting notes into his arm computer gadget. He looked so stunning framed by the moon light that Rev let a big silly grin to curl across his beak. That lasted about two seconds until he zoomed across the roof and wrapped his arms around Tech's waist.

Tech nearly jumped out of his skin. He relaxed a bit when Rev stuck his head against his neck and made a contented sound. That got a chuckle out of Tech. The coyote reached up and threaded his fingers through his feathers for a second, then turned and nuzzled the corner of his beak. Rev nuzzled back and Tech let out another low chuckle that sent shivers up Rev's spine.

That was all the warning Rev got before Tech turned and sacked him back, pushing him down on the roof and grinning. He forced himself to stay quiet and still (it was hard, but increased the likelihood that he'd get laid... maybe Tech would be willing to go all the way this time!) Sure enough the coyote let out a playful growl and began to lick and nibble at Rev's neck. Rev threaded his hands through the fur around Tech's shoulders, moving his neck to the side encouragingly. He was even happier when he felt Tech press down against him, and felt the beginning of his erection poke at him through his uniform. He was aroused! Rev rolled his thin hips up and pressed against Tech eagerly, encouragingly.

Suddenly Tech let out a low growl and grabbed his hips, forcing them down against the cool concrete. Rev didn't think anything of it, until he tried to move again and Tech nipped at his neck with his sharp teeth. That sent a small shock of pain through Rev and he gasped.

Tech was off of him in a flash and sitting beside him, his head cradled in his hands.

Rev sat up. "Tech?" he questioned. "Tech-what-is-it?-What-did-I-do?-I-was-trying-to-do-everything-right-why-did-you-stop-it-was-good-Tech?-Tech?-Do-I-smell-or-something-oh-gosh-I-bet-that's-it-I-forgot-to-bath-today-gah-I-can't-believe..."

Tech brought his head out of his hands to roll his eyes skyward. He shot out a hand, clamping down on Rev's beak, holding it closed. When Rev obediently shut up, Tech turned his head and gave him a half exasperated, half enduring look and removed his paw. "No, it's not you," He sighed and studied the sky silently and Rev sat up to sit beside him. "It's just..." Tech shifted where he was sitting uncomfortably. Finally he looked back down and studied his hands. "It must be how you smell or something..." He held up a hand before Rev could exclaim that he knew it was because he smelt bad. "NOT because you didn't bathe or anything like that... I can smell all of you extremely well," he pointed to his nose. "I guess it comes from having one of these."

"So-I-have-a-nose-too-what-does-that-have-anything-to-do-with-"

"Because you smell like food!" Tech interrupted. His eyes widened with horror. He waved his hands about quickly. "Not-" he shut his eyes as he realized his mistake. "It's just that..."

At that exact moment every single anti-coyote comment his parents made come flooding back to Rev. 'Never trust a coyote- they're our enemies, son', and 'make sure they're always restrained when you're around them or you'll wind up in the cooking pot'. But he remained silent as Tech pressed a hand to his forehead and tried to fumble through an explanation.

"It's different with humans... and Slam, it's more of a competitive scent, and it's much easier to ignore because I'm not competing with them for anything. But you, and Ace and Lexi... even Duck..." he turned his gaze back to the stars again and Rev put a hand on his shoulder, worry on his face. Tech really looked troubled about this.

Tech slowly shook his head again. "Sometimes... in the back of my mind... I get this urge to get down on all fours and run around after you... especially you actually," he let out a small wry smile. "But it's easy to fight it back, I'm way above primitive behavior like that. You're definitely not going to get eaten."

Rev considered that. "But-what-about?"

Tech reached out and smoothed the tiny feathers at the corner of his beak with a thumb. "This?" He smiled. "You're lovely. And I want you."

If Rev were human he supposed he'd be flushing bright red at those words.

Tech's smile faded a bit. "but when I get too close, or too excited... it gets harder to push back those instincts... and I refuse to hurt anyone I'm involved with," he reached down and touched the lovely blue feathers where he had bit Rev only seconds before. "I'd never forgive myself," he added softly.

Rev let out a contented sound, his eyelid's falling half closed. "Bah-Tech-you-worry-to-much-you-can't-hurt-me-and-anyway-I'm-a-ROADRUNNER-remember? I'll-just-run-away-really-really-fast-and-there's-no-way-you'll-ever-be-able-to-catch-me-well-I-suppose-you-can-use-your-ship-but-we'll-pretend-you-don't-have-one-of-those-okay?"

Tech blinked then laughed out loud, amused. He gave Rev a happy look before jumping the bird and pushing him back down onto the rooftop.

It was the first time they made love in any sort of way, even though it was shy gropes and hands bringing each other off. It still was amazing Rev decided as Tech dozed while lying on his chest, partly to prevent Rev from shifting around every second.

Yes, there was no denying it. He was in love with a coyote. His parents were going to have a fit... roadrunners did not have romantic thoughts about coyotes, EVER. He shook his head and tried to force himself to not think about it. It failed because then his mind skipped to how the team would react. He made a face as he imagined the looks on their faces, then bit back a sigh. Maybe they could keep this from the rest of the team a little while longer... just have this moment to themselves.

Satisfied at that, he smiled, his eyes falling half lidded as he remembered the look of surprise and vulnerability on Tech's face as the coyote came in his fist. Even though Tech had had experiences like this before, he hadn't, and he found he liked the closeness. He hadn't had anything like this before and now he didn't want it to end. He stroked the soft fur between Tech's ears, enjoying as Tech shifted and made a contented sound. Rev echoed Tech's sigh. This moment was perfect.

Little did he know that, high in the night sky above him, there was something else sharing the moment with him as well...

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	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**: In this fanfic the city is not the entire planet, there's a desert and some forests and so on. Like how in that one episode Rev's parents lived outside of the city on the top of mesas.

**WARNINGS**: Flashbacks to F/M (Other/Tech) in this part. Implied coercion, trauma, all that fun stuff.

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Part 2

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Rev kept on hoping for a repeat performance of that night under the stars, but unfortunately none came. They both went back into the base to get something to eat while standing a little too close to each other. That was broken up when Slam came into the kitchen to eat a bunch of food, and nothing was less romantic than Slam gouging.

Tech sighed and smoothed back his ears. "I've got to get back to my project," he said.

Rev couldn't help it. He darted up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek, despite Slam being onto a few feet away. Tech grinned and waved him off before leaving the room.

Rev turned his attention to Slam who was staring after Tech with his mouth wide open and still full of food. When he turned back to Rev he laughed out loud and pointed at Rev.

"HEY!" Rev protested.

Slam let out a bunch of mumbled words which basically said "haha, you have a thing for Tech."

Rev stuck his tongue out at Slam to hide his embarrassment. "So?" he replied. "You-don't-see-me-teasing-you-about-any-tasmanian-devil-women-you-might-be-dating-uh-if-tasmanian-devil-woman-did-exist-I'm-sure-they-do-somewhere-I've-just-never-see-none-is-all..." he paused and put his hands on his hips. "Stop laughing!"

But Slam was a hopeless case and all Rev could do was gather up his food and flee to his room as quickly as possible.

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He only wished the relationship wasn't going so slow! He actually honestly considered throwing himself at Tech's feet in hopes for another repeat performance the night after that... but he couldn't get anything out of Tech except a few quick gropes before Tech came up with another excuse... usually having something to do with getting back to work on some big important machine or device made because it was needed ASAP.

Rev tried not to show how disappointed he was. Sure he had grand visions of their first time... he'd take out one of the bottles of lube he kept in ample supply everywhere, in his room, in his regular clothes, tucked in his tail, in his superhero outfit... and Tech would bend him over a lab table and gently push a finger into him to prepare him... he'd keep his legs open and sigh that he was his, all his...

But Tech seemed more interested in his projects than him. Finally he caught Tech when he had just finished a big project. He zoomed in front of Tech and the coyote had to stop mid-step and blink at him.

"Why-aren't-we-having-sex-yet?" he demanded to know.

Tech's mouth fell open. "What?" He replied, looking more surprised than anything.

"Sex," Rev repeated, trying not to show irritation. "Sex, why aren't we having it yet? Is it because I'm a roadrunner? Is that it?"

"I..." Tech's eyebrows flew together. "No!" he replied.

"I-smell-like-food?" Rev began to rapid fire list. "You're-my-natural-enemy, you-think-I'm-ugly, blue-is-not-your-color-"

"None of those things!" Tech exclaimed, looking a bit appalled.

"Then why!" Rev's arms waved very much like they would if he had a full set of wings. "We haven't even made out again since last week!"

Tech pushed past him and placed his hands on one of his consoles, sighing as he looked down at it. "It's not that Rev… it's just that..." he ran a hand over his face. "I just want our first time together to be... special, you know?" He turned back and there was a sad look on his face, which stopped Rev's question in its tracks. "My first time... it wasn't all that special," he made a face, then shook his head as if to clear it. "I wanted yours... ours to be."

Rev's forehead creased even as his heart melted a bit. "but... we-can't..."

"If I'm in my lab all the time, I know." Tech looked like he was considering long and hard. "Well, we can always plan a time... how about this Saturday night? We could go see a game together and maybe catch some dinner and find a nice quiet place to spend the evening?" He grinned toothily and Rev's breath caught.

"Uh-sure-Tech-sounds-awesome," he exclaimed, darting forwards and pressing his beak to Tech's snout again. Tech's eyes widened then narrowed as he let out a contented growl. "It's-a-date!" Rev said happily when he pulled away.

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Don't get him wrong, he loved the bird dearly, but his incessant talking still got right under his skin sometimes. Tech resisted the urge to clamp a hand over his mouth several times during the Basherball game, and instead endured as Rev cheered, jumped up and down and rattled off multitudes of random facts and stats he had stored in that photographic memory of his.

He instead grabbed Rev's hand and squeezed it affectionately after one of Rev's stints of jumping up and down. That did the trick, as Rev went suddenly shy as he sat beside him. Tech suppressed a smile. He could control the roadrunner after all, good to know.

He also shifted uncomfortably and tried to ignore the stares from people around them. Usually people were okay with the animals around them, but they were still rare. Even rarer was to see two of them as an obvious couple in the city. Unheard of was two completely opposite animals as a couple. Heck, everyone knew that dating outside of one's species was an exercise in futility. They couldn't breed with each other after all. If they could Tech imagined the world might have more than a few half human half animal children running around.

Huh. He tried to imagine what a half coyote half roadrunner child would look like and couldn't. Then again, Rev and him didn't exactly have to worry about that anyway, even if interspecies children were possible. Being two boys and all.

Yes if there was a contest for the most illogical couple ever, he supposed Rev and him would win.

He was brought back to the game when Rev jerked his hand out of his own to stand up and cheer again. The entire crowd around him did the same. Even though he was completely confused, Tech stood up and slowly clapped. He glanced at the scoreboard. Oh. It looked like their home team had just won over the Whirlwind Devils.

He tuned out Rev's excited babble about how amazing the game was as they left the stadium hand in hand. As Rev talked he sneaked glances at him out of the corner of his eyes. He had to appreciate the roadrunner out of his super hero outfit. The sleek blue feathers framed his bright intelligent green eyes. Those green eyes never stayed fixed for long as the roadrunner's head moved back and forth, taking everything in around him. Tech had also realized, a very long time ago, that Rev was probably the smartest of his kind, with the possible exception of his brother. He had always been a sucker for intelligent people. It's what attracted him to Mallory in the first place... at least before...

He looked away from Rev, his mouth curving downwards into a frown. He didn't want to think about her. Not here at least... but his mind wouldn't shut up and he actually closed his eyes to try to force the memories back. That made him stumble a bit.

"Tech? Tech-are-you-okay-man-you-don't-look-so-good-what's-wrong-is-it-the-prezels-you-ate-did-I-do-someth-"

Tech held up a hand to stem the tide of words. "No Rev," he said quickly, opening his eyes to meet two wide green ones. He smiled gently and nudged his nose against that beak. "Everything is fine," he breathed as he brought his hands up to hold the sides of the Roadrunner's head. "Shhh," he added.

He could see Rev just about tremble with the effort to keep his words back and not talk, eyes still bright with curiosity. It took a couple more nuzzles and a swipe of his tongue toying with the corner of his beak to get Rev to focus on other things. Suddenly he found himself pressing the Roadrunner up against the brick side of a building, running his hands down the bird's sides and licking at his neck as Rev moaned softly. The bird rubbed against his hip, enjoying the contact while the humans gave them a large berth while walking around them.

They broke apart moments later, both panting and horny as hell. Rev's eyes were completely dilated and his hands fisted Tech's jacket. "Can-we-just-skip-the-dinner-and-go-right-back-home?" he asked more than a bit wantonly.

Tech shook his head and pulled away the rest of the way. "No," he replied, giving Rev a sharp look when it appeared that Rev was going to protest. "We're going out to dinner first," he added, leaving no room in his tone for argument.

Rev heaved a sigh. "Yes, Tech," he said as Tech began to lead them purposefully towards the restaurant they had agreed on. Tech shook his head a bit as he lead Rev away. The bird was far too eager. Then again, he reflected, he had been too...

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She had been one of Mallory's friends... or acquaintances at very least. She had pulled the girl up to him during the University after hours party she had forced him to go, to and introduced her as a girl in her class. She was very interested in non humans, just like he was in humans, she added with a wink.

The girl flushed bright red at that and was embarrassed. Tech regarded her with interest, he already had a couple drinks in him and was feeling much more open than he usually would be. "You do?" he asked, before he could stop himself.

She nodded, her blond curls bobbing about her head. Tech raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down. She was okay looking for a human, which was a plus. Her pale cheeks were flushed with both embarrassment and alcohol he imagined. She held her small hands clasped together in front of herself as she looked at him with open curiosity.

One thing led to another and he soon found himself in a corner, kissing and touching a girl in ways he never expected to... at least not outside of his own kind.

He growled softly when she tried to pull away from him, and he pulled her back. She giggled at that and fell back in his arms, hands sliding up under his shirt and petting his fur, and suddenly he realized he wanted more. A lot more.

He wasn't sure if he told her or if she just figured it out, but moments later she was tugging him out the doors and into the cool night. They ended up running hand in hand, ducking past staff, other students, and down a back alley. There was a set of steps at the end leading to a low roof and they made their way up them, her hands tugging on Tech's tail as they went. Finally they both collapsed at the top, out of breath as they admired the view. Or rather she admired the view, and Tech admired her. He loved how her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, how she grinned with her cheeks flushed. He reached out and touched her arm, and she looked at him, her eyes wide and full of curiosity and lust.

It went from there. Her clothes came off, and then his own, and suddenly she was on him, wiggling against him eagerly, sliding her smooth hairless body against his fur. He knew it felt good, and he knew the exact moment he lost control. His memories became convoluted at that point, flashes of images, of him growling and pushing her back down against the rooftop, her mouth open wide into the shape of an "o" as he slipped inside of her. Feeling his knot swell and lock her and finally the tears...

The tears. He couldn't forget them. She was crying, he realized, as he was still inside of her. The reality hit him like a cold splash about half way in and he tried to scramble off of her. That made her scream as his organ just pulled at her flesh.

Agony followed as he tried to will his erection down enough to draw out of her as she lay there stiffly and whimpered. All he could do was apologize again and again and feel as if he was going to die of embarrassment.

She didn't speak to him at all when he finally did get free of her, merely stiffly replaced her clothes as she sniffled a bit. They returned to the party in silence. He offered to do anything to make it better, but she only shook her head no. When he got back she turned to give him a wave with no smile and disappeared into the crowd.

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"And… Tech? Earth-to-Tech! Are-you-okay?" Tech blinked as he came to and stared at Rev for a moment, before remembering where he was and what he was doing. He was at dinner with Rev, he remembered. He had faded off into bad memories when he started tuning Rev's constant natter out.

He managed a small smile, smoothing his napkin over his lap. "I'm fine," he lied. At the same time horrible memories danced through his head. Rev wasn't the same species as him either, if he ended up hurting him as well...

Then again, as Mallory proved, sex with humans wasn't all bad. He schooled a twisted smile. It always came back to her didn't it?

.

She teased him relentlessly about his "failed" coupling with that girl for months after the fact. Never mind the fact that the girl wouldn't even look at him in the halls, and all he could feel for weeks was a horrible gnawing guilt.

Mallory didn't think it was nearly that serious. The next day when he told her how he felt about the entire thing, Mallory merely laughed it off. "She'll be fine," she said airily, "It's not every day that a girl has to deal with a knot after all," she then winked and she patted his crotch, which made Tech stare at her, horrified.

"Mallory!" he protested, but Mallory was already off in the lab, laughing at him as she went.

To make it worse Mallory didn't relent either. She seemed to enjoy teasing him sexually every chance she got. Like the time she backed him up against the hallway wall when no one was looking and asked if "the puppy wanted to play".

When he merely turned his head to the side and told her not to tease, she got upset… for a moment. Then she smiled serenely. "I'll get you to play one way or another, Tech," she said sweetly. "You'll see," she then turned and walked away.

The situation just ended up getting worse, the coy remarks from his protégé getting harder and harder to handle. Most of the time she was okay… but sometimes… sometimes though she'd slip in the most inappropriate comment in the middle of figuring out a very complex set of problems, and he'd choke and lose his concentration.

It reached a point where he would have decided against continuing to tutor Mallory if the girl wasn't so damn brilliant. She had a natural aptitude for learning and was probably the only person on the planet who could give him a run for his money in the smarts department. He was in awe of what she could do.

He also knew she was somewhat evil long before she proved she was. He remembered the rat incident quite well, and to this day it made him shudder slightly when he thought about it, partly because of his reaction to it.

He had wondered vaguely at it when she brought one of the university experimental rats into their lab. She calmly set it down beside the consol he was working at and just as calmly gutted it. The rat squirmed and bled out, it's squeals of distress growing weaker and weaker and until finally they stopped. He stared as she raised her head and smiled knowingly at him, her eyes glittering. She then asked if he wanted a bite.

His mouth watered at the prospect. He hadn't expected that, having spent his entire life around books, he had never actually killed anything… or been around a freshly killed animal before. He actually found himself leaning towards it unconsciously, before his mind kicked back in and he was horrified. He turned away quickly and coolly asked her to not waste the University's resources on nothing. She wasn't too pleased at that to say the least, hmphed at him, then disintegrated the rat. There was still a red stain on the counter after that though, a red stain that would sometimes catch his eye and make him shudder involuntarily.

It got so bad that when she came onto him again, about five months after his first sexual encounter and asked if he wanted to come home with her, he did in hopes it would make her teasing finally stop. This time the sex wasn't horrible and traumatizing, though Mallory was in control the entire time. Tech felt like he was a puppet for all the work and involvement he actually had in the act. After that Mallory did stop teasing him as much, which was a relief. They only had one more repeat performance, this time late at night in the labs. Two weeks after that she tried to suck the intellect out of all the professors at the college and Tech had her put in jail. The rest was history.

At least until now...

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It was near the end of dinner when he noticed he was feeling a bit different. He felt warm and sleepy, which he often did after a good meal... but the meal was not _that _good. He frowned as he patted his belly and looked up at Rev. Maybe he was just tired, it had been a long day after all…

Rev apparently felt the same because he grinned back and yawned noisily. "I'm-wiped-wasn't-that-a-good-meal-Tech? Well-I've-had-better-but-it-was-pretty-good-anyway-if-I-do-say-so… hey-what-do-you-say-you-and-me-head-back-home-now-and-get-on-with-this-evening-huh-Tech-sound-good?"

Tech nodded lazily before sighing and hauling himself out of his seat. He tossed Zadavia's charge card down on the table and stood, looping an arm around Rev's waist. Suddenly it didn't matter as much if people saw him close and personal with Rev, and the bird seemed completely okay with that. In fact Rev practically hummed with happiness as he walked right out of the restaurant with Tech.

They made it out into the street and Tech was just about to summon his ship to come pick them up when a blinding flash happened to his right. He threw up an arm shield to protect both him and Rev only to find his powers wouldn't come and whatever it was hit him from the side and sent him flying. He was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

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End file.
